Here we are at chapter 10! I just wanted to give some shout-outs to some of my awesome readers to kinda celebrate. :)

-F4BP30PL3 has been reviewing since I first posted the fic and always leaves great reviews. :)

-ponythekidrs has left awesome reviews! c:

-PrincessCarly28 left an awesome spam that I very much enjoyed waking up to. 'u'

I love all my readers x10! Even those I didn't shout out are hella rad. B) I'm super sorry for late update, & I think the next one will take a while too. Sorry!

Trigger warning at the end, use of cigarettes.

When the police arrived, Nepeta was interviewed by the police as predicted. The paramedics weren't needed, and she was grateful she would be spared an interview. When the officers talked to the man, Equius stood nearby to assure he said nothing he'd regret.

While the police and paramedics were finishing up and left her alone for a little while, Nepeta decided to call her mother. She went to the car to retrieve her purse, which had her cell phone in it. She checked to see she had three missed messages, and five missed phone calls. She raised an eyebrow and saw that four of the missed calls were from her mother, and everything else was from Eridan. She gulped. Her mother was always unhappy when Nepeta didn't answer her calls. And now she'd have to tell her she'd just been in a wreck.

Nepeta sighed and sat down in the driver's seat, feet hanging out of the open car door. She stared at her phone, biting her lip nervously. This phone call was not going to be fun. She knew she would have to get this over with eventually and pressed the call button.

The phone didn't even ring a complete round before her mom picked it up.

"Nepeta? Is that you?"

"Hi, mom. It's Nep."

A sigh could be heard on the other end. "Why didn't you return my calls? Equius has been texting me for the past hour on everything that's been going on...why is it I hear from him and not you first? Do you understand how serious of a situation this is?"

Nepeta frowned. "Of course I do mom. That's why I called."

"You better be glad you called when you did. Your father's listening too. We've been trying to decide how to punish you. So maybe the three of us can talk it out right now."

"Mom you can't! I'm 18 and living on my own now! I'm not a kid anymore!"

"And how do you expect to pay for this?"

"Well..."

"Exactly. You need your father and I, Nepeta." The voices of her mother and father could faintly be heard in the distance as they discussed something.

"Mom this is unfair," Nepeta said, her comment looked over by the people on the other end.

The voices continued on in the background for a little while, and then silenced. Nepeta's mom returned. "We'll be visiting you in two days from now-Thursday. We have a lot to talk about."

Her mother hung up without saying goodbye and Nepeta groaned. She hung her head and saw a shadow appear at her feet. She glanced up to see Eridan standing before her, hand awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"Hey... was that your parents?"

Nepeta cocked her head to the side. She hadn't really been paying attention to the world around her as she conversed with her mom. "Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?" She asked, ignoring his question.

Eridan blushed slightly. "I...it just sounded serious was all. I wasn't actually listenin' to what you were saying, if that's what you were thinking."

"Oh," Nepeta said. "Yeah, it was my mom. They're coming from West Virginia in a few days to do who knows what to me. I'm in a lot of trouble."

Eridan sat down on the road, with his back on the car. "Why are you in trouble?"

"I need money. They're mad this happened. They don't think I'm responsible, it goes on." Nepeta's face looked sullen the as the conversation carried on.

"That's bullshit. Like it's your fault you got into a crash. I mean, you could've been killed, and they got the nerve to be mad at you? Fucking stupid. Parents. Fuckin' hate em."

Nepeta's heart sank a little. "I didn't even think about getting hurt or killed. But it is my fault the whole thing happened. It was a rear-end and everything. It's always the second driver's fault."

"Well, it's not like you meant to," Eridan offered.

Nepeta just shrugged and accepted that she just wasn't going to be cheered up, especially after that phone call. Eridan, however, wasn't quite ready to admit defeat just yet.

"And really, did they always treat you like this? Just givin' you punishments and stuff for things you didn't even do?"

Nepeta frowned. "Well, they're just protecting me. They love me, I know. I love them too. They wouldn't ever try to hurt me in any way, or anything like that. They're just protective is all."

Eridan scoffed. "Your parents sound nothing like my dad."

"How's that?" Nepeta asked.

"They love you."

Nepeta's heart sank even lower in her chest. "Oh Eridan...I'm pawsitive he loves you...just might not show it."

"Oh yeah, I bet. Nothing says 'I love you son' more than cigar burns all over your arms, and gettin' called a queer on a daily basis," Eridan said, his voice laced with venom. He hated his dad, he hated his entire family, if he would even call it that. It was just him, his older brother, and his dad. And it was miserable.

He had successfully managed to push them out of his life for good on his 18th birthday, when he moved out. But even still they somehow managed to reappear in his life, like right now in this conversation with Nepeta. Sometimes, he wished he didn't even have a family.

Nepeta placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and saw that she was on the verge of tears, but still casting him a warm smile.

"What...why are you crying?" Eridan asked, scooting towards her. He pulled her hand from his shoulder and held it in his.

"I mean..." Nepeta started. "It's not okay for you to feel like that. You have a family, even if you aren't related to them. You have all your friends, and...and you have me."

Eridan felt a pang in his heart. He let go of Nepeta's hand and turned away. "Please. Everyone I know hates me." His voice was low, and hurt.

"That's not true!" Nepeta insisted. She hugged him from behind and whispered into his ear; "I don't hate you Eridan Ampora. Even if at first we didn't like each other that's because we didn't know each other. I will always be your friend and your family."

Eridan felt as if he were on the verge of tears as well. His entire life was filled with self-loathe and loneliness. Never was anyone eager to claim him as a friend, not even Feferi. But that word, family now that was something else. His idea of family was never complete or accurate. He didn't know what being in a family was like. He didn't even know what it looked like. The only time he'd been to a friend's house was with Feferi; and she didn't have a father figure around. Her mother was nearly abusive, and almost always away for business. Eridan's view of family was never a formulated thought, and never really associated with anyone.

But now he had someone who considered him family, someone who he could consider family too. And in those few moments she spoke those words to him, he felt a strange feeling rise up in his chest and sent his heart beating faster than ever before.

It felt good in the first few short milliseconds, but as they stayed there, the feeling also stayed there, and he began to fear it. He even felt a little nauseous. Whatever this feeling was, he'd hoped it would go away soon, because it was unpleasant.

They were quiet for a short while, watching the cars drive by. Suddenly, Nepeta's face lit up like she was remembering something. "Hey! Um, this might be a weird time, but I need your help with something."

Eridan looked up at her. The expression she was making made it seem as if she were regretting what she had just said. She was doing that adorable little lip bite again, the rest of her features following the same pattern as they had before. Her eyes seemed to be just a little wider, if it were even possible, wavering with concern and worry.

"Well...what do you need help with?" Eridan asked.

Nepeta sighed and fiddled with her fingers. Her face paled remarkably within a few seconds. "Okay, well. I just need some advice."

Eridan grimaced. "I don't think I'm your guy. The advice I give isn't usually...healthy."

"Well...I guess I'm not looking so much for your advice as I am your opinion. You're pretty good with opinions right?" She smiled a little and he smirked, and when he didn't respond immediately she continued. "Well. I don't know how to say this without offending you."

"Well now that you've brought it up you're going to have to say it, so might as well get it over with," Eridan said sassily.

Nepeta flinched at his frankness, but obliged. "Someone told me that I should talk about this with you, so I guess now that we're here...oh, fuck it. I still have feelings for Karkat. But everyone knows that's never going to happen. But, I also over the past few days...started to like you too." Nepeta blushed intensely. "The thing is though. Everyone I know doesn't really like you. They think that you're a bad person and I'm too much of a good person." Nepeta was mentally punching herself in the face. She slid out of the car and sat next to him. "But I don't think you're a bad person. I think you're a good person with a bad reputation. I've already started losing friends just by liking you. I just...I just want to know what to do. I'm so lost."

Eridan was silent for a few moments. He looked away from her, his face crestfallen. Nepeta knew it wasn't the place, but in that moment she wanted to do nothing more than wrap her arms around him and kiss him on the cheek. She knew her attraction to him was growing rapidly, and she wanted nothing more for everything to be right, and be in a nice, easy relationship with him.

Eridan pulled up his legs and rested his elbows on his knees. "I think that, if I'm already causing you this much trouble, that maybe you should just forget about me. Let me guess, Equius was the one who told you to talk to me? That means you had talked to him first. I know just Sunday morning we were nearly strangers, but even so if we're to become anything-I can't be second. You can't still like other guys."

Nepeta was shocked. "But...but what about Feferi? You still like her."

"That's different."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"How?"

"It just is, okay?" He scowled and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

Nepeta watched him quietly. He placed the cigarette in his mouth and lit it using a lighter from his pocket. He was scowling the entire process. He shoved the pack into his pocket with a little more force that was needed. He did the same thing with his wallet and blew an exaggerated puff of smoke in the air.

"I'm sorry." Nepeta said quietly. She knew she had hurt him with what she had said. She regretted it the moment she brought it up. But she also knew he had to know what was going on. It hurt, and either way it would've hurt. She's never been one to handle her problems on her own. Even still, what hurt the most was the fact that he told her to forget about him.

"For what?" He wasn't asking the question out of curiosity, but instead almost with spite.

"I just am."

"You can't be sorry for nothing."

"Well I just was."

Eridan sighed and stood up. With his free hand, he offered Nepeta help up onto her feet. She took it reluctantly, but still held on tight to his hand longingly.

"I need to go. I've got a test tomorrow I haven't studied for."

"Are we going to talk again?" Nepeta asked him. The question was simple, but they both knew what it really meant for them. She was asking if they were ever going to become something more than what they were now, or if what they were now was going to disintegrate.

Eridan blew another puff of smoke in the air thoughtfully. "I don't want to be the reason you lose all your friends. I would never want to hurt you. If you think that this isn't going to work out-even the slightest doubt, leave here and now."

Nepeta nodded, but didn't want to accept it. "Goodbye, Eridan."

He nodded and walked away. Nepeta watched him go, a trail of smoke following him. He walked with the usual strut of his, except with his head held a little lower. Despite the fact that she was staring at the back of his head, she could feel the sorrow emanating off of him, or maybe she was mistaking that for the sorrow in her heart.

"Nepeta, it is time to go." She turned around. The man's car that she had hit was gone, and so was he. Equius placed an awkward hand on her shoulder. Nepeta nodded and sighed. She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder, Eridan was gone.